Nigeria seeks global partnerships to tackle security threats

By Kingsley Omonobi NEW YORK — Nigeria has called for stronger international partnerships and a whole-of-society approach to tackling its evolving security challenges and those of the wider Sahel region. The Minister of Defence, General Christopher Gwabin Musa (Rtd), made the call on Thursday at a high-level side event organised by the Ministry of Defence on the margins of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Week in New York. The event, themed, “Confronting Nigeria’s Multi-dimensional Security Challenges: A Whole-of-Society and Partnership-Based Approach,” brought together diplomats, security practitioners and representatives of the United Nations, African Union and ECOWAS. Musa said Nigeria’s security challenges had national, regional and global implications, stressing that no country could address modern security threats in isolation.

“Our recognition that we cannot address these challenges alone is not a statement of dependence; rather, it is an acknowledgement of the multidimensional character of modern security threats and the importance of collective action,” he said. The minister added that sustainable security required resilient communities, effective institutions, inclusive development and good governance. Musa outlined measures being implemented under the administration of President Bola Tinubu, including the recruitment of an additional 22,000 personnel into the Armed Forces and the expansion and reorganisation of the Nigerian Army’s divisional structure. He also listed ongoing efforts toward establishing state police and dedicated forest guard arrangements to improve security in rural and border communities. According to him, the government is also implementing presidential approval for a unified intelligence and reconnaissance…